McMurray Takes No. 37 Yard-Man Ford to 17th Place Finish in Texas

Fort Worth, TX (April 16, 2007) – Jamie McMurray fought  a loose racecar and changing track conditions for much of the afternoon, but was able to pilot the No. 37 Yard-Man Ford Fusion to a solid 17th place finish in the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.

On Thursday, the Brewco team got an early qualifying draw, which worked against them as the track got faster throughout the qualifying session. With a 21st place qualifying position, McMurray and Crew Chief Newt Moore knew they had their work cut out for them come race time.

After an off day Friday, the Brewco crew prepared for the race on a cold Saturday morning in Fort Worth, Texas. From the drop of the green flag until about the 35th lap in the 200 lap race, McMurray reported back to Moore that the No. 37 Yard-Man Ford was “pretty good.” Then around lap 45 in the 24th position, McMurray mentioned that the Brewco Ford went “way loose” when near other cars. Moore brought his driver down pit road on lap 55 for tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment, to try and correct the loose conditions. The Brewco team pit again on lap 73 in the 16th position, to further work on the car.

McMurray continued to battle the loose conditions throughout the afternoon, but did run in the top-10 for more than a quarter of the race. The Brewco team would pit on laps 126, 161 and 180, constantly adjusting the No. 37 Yard-Man Ford, and ended the event in the 17th position.

“For most of the race I got tight behind other cars, then I was loose everywhere else,” said McMurray. “It was hard to tell Newt and the guys what I needed, because the conditions changed so much. I obviously wish we finished better than we did, but I give the Brewco guys a lot of credit for working on the Yard-Man Ford the whole race.”

“Jamie did a great job staying after it,” said Moore. “We were really looking for a top-ten run today, but it was just a tough afternoon, with the way the car was handling. We were able to move up a few spots in the owners’ points race, so that was a positive for us. We’ll just keep working hard and getting ready for Phoenix. The whole team is looking forward to having Greg (Biffle) in the Yard-Man Ford next weekend, so we’re excited about our chances on Friday night.”

Next for the No. 37 Yard-Man Ford will be the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday April 20. Greg Biffle will be behind the wheel of the Yard-Man Ford. Television coverage of the race begins at 9:00 pm EST on ESPN2.